Butterflies are now starting to show up in greater abundance in the front yard. Yesterday, every time I walked out the door, I saw a Tiger Swallowtail nipping nectar on the butterfly bush.
Like this beautiful male with his bold tiger stripes…
…and this lovely female, who is missing one of her tails, a fate that is common for this type of butterfly. You can tell she is a female because of the prominent band of blue she displays.
As a bonus, another female showed up, only this one is what is called a “Dark Morph” variety. Female Tiger Swallowtails come in two different colors, yellow or bluish-black, both of which are a treat to behold.
Enjoying their beauty as they go from blossom to blossom is one of those simple pleasures in life.
Backyard Bird Nerd 
Beautiful photos and informative post!
Thanks!
I saw two Swallowtails the other day in my front yard, they made me pause… such beauty! Thanks Kathy for sharing your beautiful photos, I always enjoy them so much! 💕🦋
I love taking the pictures, but it is much more fun to share them!
What a gift this morning, thank you Kathy. When I was a kid, we always had hundreds of Swallowtails in our trees.
What a fun memory. 😊
Thanks for the summer swallowtail fix! 😁 beautiful captures!
Thanks. Pretty sure there will be many more to follow!
Loved the pictures and was very informative. Thank you
Glad you enjoyed it. 😊
How lovely! Thanks for sharing!
You are most welcome. 😊
Beautiful butterflies Kathy – interesting that you said the Tiger Swallowtail often has pieces missing of the tail. I took some photos last year of one and never noticed until I uploaded them … large chunk of the tail missing, same place as your photo. Hopefully the tail doesn’t “catch” when it is flitting over such things as thistles and burrs as that is where I usually see them. That would tear the tail portion for sure.
A lot of times birds snap at the tails, which is sort of like God-given bait so that the vital parts of the butterfly don’t get bit. Pretty cool stuff.
I never thought of the birds bothering the butterflies – you gave me food for thought Kathy.